The Six Senses
by Mariyu
Summary: A story about the growing relationship between Bonnie and Damon. M for later chapters. First chapter: Hear
1. Hear

Bonnie was in the kitchen when she heard the banging. It was loud and urgent, and her instincts told her it was someone she knew. She checked her phone as she hurried to the door, seeing if she had missed any emergency calls from Elena. Nothing.

The young witch stood stunned at the door as she found Damon waiting, both hands gripping both sides of the doorframe. His head was bowed down, and he looked up at her through his bangs.

"I-is everything ok? Did something happen to Elena?"

Damon chuckled darkly and knocked at the invisible force field that held him back from entering her house.

"Elena. Elena. Why is it always about ELENA?"

His eyes open wide on him saying the last Elena, as if it was some hidden joke. Bonnie pursed her lips a little, looking at him amused.

"Why else would you be here, Damon?"

"Let me in and we can talk about it?"

"Shut up."

Bonnie stepped back into her home, grabbed her coat and slipped out onto the porch. She sat down on the bench set up on porch. He stared at her for a moment before settling down where she patted a spot for him.

"Damon, what's going on?"

His arm wrapped around her and pulled her close, smiling at her innocently.

"Oh I just wanted to see you, have some fun."

Her snort almost made him crack a genuine smile, and she shrugged his arm off but she didn't scoot away from him. Unfortunately he wasn't in any mood to smile, he wasn't really sure what kind of mood he was into. Damon reached over to feel up her knee, and wasn't surprised to see her slap away his hand.

"Damon!"

"Bonnie!"

"Seriously, what is wrong with you tonight?"

She scooted near the edge of her seat, ready to go back inside if he intended to keep acting the way he was. The vampire was honestly surprised that she hadn't already done just that.

"Why does there have to be anything wrong?"

The look she gave him was enough of an answer.

"Stop deflecting. This has something to do with Elena right?"

"Again with Elena..."

Bonnie stood up, walking to the railing of the porch and leaned back on it with her arms crossed. She gave him that judgy little look of hers that irritated him, as she waited for his true reason for being there tonight.

"Look...I needed...a distraction."

"There are plenty of girls, Da-" He waved his hand at her to stop her from continuing.

"I already know that. You think I would be HERE, if I didn't know that? God Bonnie I know you're full of-"

"AND goodnight Damon." Before she could walk back into her house, Damon was already in front of the door with his hands up in surrender.

"Ok! Jesus Bonnie. I...I can't go home right now. Not tonight." He shoved his hand through his hair roughly, looking wildly from side to side. Unsure of why he really was here of all places. When he finally looked back down at Bonnie, he noticed that she patiently stood there, head cocked to the side in question.

"What happened with Elena?" GOD why did she have to be so persistent, because it pissed him off how spot on she was being.

"She's never going to leave him is she?"

Bonnie stood extremely still, surprised at how straightforward the question was. She opened her mouth slightly, wondering if she should sugar coat it for him, but this was Damon. If he wanted it sugar coated, he would have been at some bar with another woman he could compel. She briefly wondered if this was why he was here. He knew that she wouldn't withhold a truthful opinion from him.

"No."

Quicker than a span of second she found herself pinned to her front door, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. The little witch fought her instinct to throw him off of her, hoping to diffuse the situation without violence.

He pulled her forward slightly before slamming her back into the door. His breath coming in small puffs against her face, and she noticed the faint smell of alcohol.

"I do everything for her. EVERYTHING. And it doesn't matter. It wouldn't even matter if I changed back into a monster." As if to prove a point, his eyes grew dark as the veins in his cheeks pulsated with hunger. He wanted to scare Bonnie. He wanted her to attack him, hurt him, but to his dismay she just stood there and stared at him. Tense but not scared.

"Damon..."

"DON'T. Don't you dare try and defend her." He slammed his hand into the side of the door, beside her head. Any trace of mirth that was there moments before had completely left his face. Her eyes danced around his face for a moment before finally settling on his eyes.

"I know that there is this thing going on between you her...but she's not going to leave Stefan for you. Even if she did it wouldn't be for long." Damon let out a long shuddering breath, leaning his forehead against hers. "I also know that what she does to you isn't right. We may not always see eye to eye Damon, but I do know that you don't deserve that. Not after Katherine." He stilled, slowly lifting his eyes up to see hers.

Damon knew she wouldn't lie to him; she never had a reason too. Her eyes searched his for any resistance to what she was saying, when she saw none she continued.

"Elena's my best friend Damon, my sister. I would back whatever decision she makes." She smiled a little. "Within reason of course, but I won't always agree with why she does them. I know she's not meaning too...but she's stringing you along, even though she's made her choice. I'm sorry Damon, but it's not yo-"

The rest of her sentence died on his lips as he pressed harshly against her. He didn't want to hear another word; he was done with the truth. Damon cradled both hands around her face, as his lips roughly attacked hers.

Why wasn't she stopping him? Why wasn't she using her powers to blow him back?

All she did was lift a hand and press it firmly against his chest, but she did nothing. She didn't even physically push him with her hand. Bonnie just stood there.

One hand slipped behind her head, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanked it back. He then tilted his head slightly to get a better angle. She made a surprised noise as his tongue pushed into her mouth, moving his explorations into other areas.

Nothing. She wasn't even kissing him back.

He pulled back, hand still in her hair, and he used his other hand to slam into the door frame.

"Do something! Anything! Kill me, kiss me, just distract me." When he looked down at her he was unprepared for the look she gave him. She was scared, eyes filled with tears, but not a single one fell.

He heard the door click open, and realized it was Bonnie when she began to step backwards into the house, staring at him. Damon waited for the door to slam in his face, but she continued to stare at him, until finally her eyes cleared of any tears.

"Damon, please come inside."

"What?" His eyebrows were low in confusion, hands flying around sporadically to prove a point. "I attack you and you invite me, a VAMPIRE, into your house? Are you insane?"

"Look. I'm not gonna lie. You try that kissing thing again and I will lock your ass into that underground tomb, but I really don't think it's safe for anyone else if I let you leave." Damon almost had to laugh at this. Of course Bonnie would be all "noble and self-sacrificing", that she would let him. He stared at her, and realized that he was a little scared of what he might do if he didn't follow her inside of the house.

After swallowing thickly, he followed her in, slowly taking in his new surroundings. Damon was surprised by how quiet and dark it was.

"You're home alone?"

Her lips quirked into a quick smile as she began turning on lights, leading him into a family room with a large dark couch and plum colored throw pillows. The layout was similar to Elena's house, but the kitchen was noticeably smaller with no island in the middle. He sniffed, vaguely noticing that the air smelled stale, as if the downstairs room was rarely used.

"If my dad was home I wouldn't have let you in. Stay here ok?" She didn't wait for answer, and hurried back up stairs.

Damon immediately began looking for pictures, anything personal to tease her about. It annoyed him to see that there were only recent ones, and a few if any. There was a photo of her, an older man, and her grandmother. Bonnie was a couple of years younger, but she looked relatively the same. She looked uncomfortable though, wedged between the two adults, almost as if she was purposely placed in between them.

He backed away from the photo when he heard her footsteps down the stairs, assuming that she just came from her bedroom. The sight of her made him immediately grin.

"Well little red riding hood…what little basket of goodies are you bringing me tonight?" She carried a small basket filled with dvd's, candles, books, and a box of matches. A deep red blanket draped over her head in order to make one trip down the stairs. Bonnie scowled at him and dumped her basket on the table.

"I have movies that you can choose from, and books if you don't want to watch a movie." She picked up the candles and began placing them around her house, on window sills and small coffee tables; lighting them as she went. "What do you want to drink? I have coffee, tea, water, juice…sorry I don't have alcohol or blood."

"Ha. Ha. Coffee." Damon began to sift through the movies, picking a few that were mildly interesting. The stale scent was replaced by a warm crisp smell that reminded him of the woods. He rather liked it.

"Ok what are we watching?" She sat on the couch, placing a tray of drinks and treats on the table. He sat down at least a cushion away from her, watching as she comfortably wedged herself between to pillows and wrapped safely in her blanket.

They spent the night in a peaceful calm that Damon felt unaccustomed to. He didn't have to worry about compelling, feeding, flirting, or even thinking. Bonnie wouldn't allow the first 3 in any way, shape, or form and she proved herself to be a rather excellent distraction. Keeping Damon's interest peeked by constantly keeping up their little game of unoffending insults thrown back and forth as they watched movies.

"I guess I'll be doomed to be forever second best to my darling baby brother."

Bonnie was startled by the sudden comment, using all of her will power not to look at him. They were halfway through the second movie and had kept personal conversation out of it. Her fingers slid across the rim of her cup, long finished with her tea.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm probably doomed to forever end up in relationships that end terribly." He laughed softly, and turned his head to look at her. There was any joy to his laugh, just simple resignation.

"Well you do have terrible taste in men."

"Ha. Ha."

"Who would you choose, between my brother and I?" The question was extremely forward and he knew it, bracing himself for answer that he knew he wouldn't like. She merely tilted her head a little before finally looking at him, dark green eyes meeting ice blue ones.

"Your bro-"

However she couldn't finish as she began bursting into a fit of laughter. Damon's expression had been one of complete disbelief when she began to answer, then quickly to mock anger as he realized Bonnie had treated his question as a joke.

"Well fuck you too, Bonnie!" He laughed despite himself, the tension evaporating.

"I'm sorry, but you deserve that for asking me such an on the spot awkward question." Bonnie shrugged and gave him a small smile that was not unfriendly. "Look, I trusted you enough to let you inside my house, let's just leave it at that."

"Yeah, about that, I think you're the dumbest witch alive to let me in."

"Shut up.


	2. Smell

Smell

Mystic falls was having a particular beautiful day, with blue sky peeking through clouds and a cool crisp breeze. The clouds hung low in clumps, but the air wasn't cold at all. If anything it was a light sweater type of weather.

To take advantage of such a day, the girls decided to eat lunch at a small café that had tables set up on the outside and had a spectacular view of the woods nearby. They chatted over drinks and warm pastries, taking a break from the hectic life of school and the paranormal. However Caroline never let the conversation trail to far from the drama that was boys.

"Ok, Elena spill."

"What?" The brown haired beauty was startled by the sudden turn in conversation, which was about some random movie coming out soon. Nowhere near Caroline's train of thought, which always seem to plow through like it was derailed. Bonnie had to smile at the thought.

"About Damon. Damon left all in a huff when I went the mansion and Stefan covered for you as you ran upstairs. Commmee on, tell me!" Elena flushed with embarrassment and began to wave her hands up in dismay.

"I don't know what to say Care…we got into a fight…big deal…" She trailed off, and began to chew on her bottom lip in nervous confusion.

"It is a big deal, he never came home. Stefan texted me like crazy to see if he was around. What did you two fight about?"

Bonnie felt all of her blood rush to her face with embarrassment, biting her tongue to keep from revealing her own secret knowledge. The witch was unsure if Damon wanted her house visit to be known or not, but based on topic of conversation she assumed the negative. She drank her chai tea in larger gulps, ignoring Caroline's quick glance at her direction. It took a few moments of silence before Elena began to confess.

"Look, Stefan and I were…discussing things about us…and then Damon came barging in and began arguing with…well mostly me…" Elena gripped her cup tightly as she tripped over words, telling them the truth but leaving out the details.

"Elena…sweetie you're gonna have to stop torturing the poor boys." Caroline gently laughed, "You're confusing them."

"I'm not meaning to! It's just…the way I feel…I care about both of them. It's not that simple."

"Yes it is."

Both Elena and Caroline looked at Bonnie in surprise, causing Bonnie to realize that she just spoke. She visibly shrunk, as she began to scramble for something else to say to her confused friend.

"I just mean that maybe…you're making things more complicated than what they need to be?"

"But," Elena frowned into her own cup, avoiding their eyes, "someone's going to get hurt if I make a choice…I don't think I can do that to them…"

A slight twinge of anger hummed through Bonnie at that moment. As a friend she should be able to say something to Elena, no matter how harsh, but it was never an easy thing to do. Underneath the table she felt a slight nudge on her leg and Bonnie looked up to see her blonde friend gesture for her to talk, encouraging her to say what needed to be said.

The memory of Damon's face last night was the final push.

"Elena, I know you're not meaning to, but by not choosing you are doing exactly what you didn't want to do. However, instead of one, you are hurting both of them. You are stringing them along and it's selfish and unfair. They don't deserve that, even from you."

All of the girls stilled in shock at Bonnie's words, all of them. The little witch began to fidget uncomfortably, not wanting to look up to see a hurt look on Elena's face. Bonnie felt wretched and immediately decided to blame Damon. Yes. Damon is to blame for this current circumstance. He is the evil bastard to turn her against her friend, despite what she had told him last night about how she felt about this entire situation. Screw him and his pity party; she was going to burn him the second she got the chance.

"Y-you're right…," Bonnie peeked at her best friend, and cringed at that frozen dejected look, "and the horrible thing is I've known what I have been doing. I'm just a coward." Elena's jaw set, as she grabbed her coat and jacket. She dropped a few bills to settle her bill and quickly strode away.

"Wait! Elena-" Hurrying to follow Bonnie did the same, but didn't get too far with Caroline standing in front of her. The blond shook her head, steering them both to Bonnie's car.

"Don't worry, Elena needed to hear it."

"But I-"

"She isn't mad with you." They stood in silence for a moment, as Bonnie mulled over her feelings of uncertainty. Her best friends hurt face permanently imprinted in her thoughts. Of course Caroline was there to completely knock her of kilter.

"So what WAS that about anyway?" Caroline had a Cheshire grin that made Bonnie feel how she had imagined Elena been feeling moments before, cornered and put on the spot. It was a feeling that Bonnie wasn't really accustomed to, so when she tried to lie she failed miserably. She made an awkward sort of laugh that caused Caroline to lift an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I have to go now." A petite hand prevented Bonnie from opening her car door, and from her nervousness she had yanked rather hard, equaling a little witch stumbling ungracefully into the side of the car.

"Well I was just wondering since it almost sounded like you were defending Damon." Caroline's hand was placed firmly on the car door, her grin spreading wider.

"I didn't say Damon specifically!" Insert giant blaring image of Damon kissing her the night prior. Bonnie couldn't stop the memory take over all other thought; she was trying so hard to not think of that particular part.

"Yeah well Stefan is one thing, but including Damon in what's fair and unfair in a positive light is a rather big step for you."

"Look Caroline, I was simply helping Elena by telling her what she needed to hear…it's no big deal." The blonde laughed and stepped away from the car, allowing her friend to get in.

"Y'know, when both you and Elena use the words "big deal" to imply that nothing is wrong, it screams the complete opposite. So I'm just gonna sit and watch whatever is happening happen, and enjoy every second of it."

"GOODBYE Caroline."

"Bye BonBon."

Bonnie scowled the entire drive home, questioning her own sanity. She should have just said Stefan. She should have just made some swipe at Damon about how he deserved whatever he got.

By the time she got home she was still internally fuming and had parked the car, continuing to sit in it lost in her thoughts. Unfortunately her source of irritation was getting impatient.

"Bonnie, it's been like 15 minutes. And I was hoping you would notice I was here by now to creep you out, but I'm getting bored." Damon was slouched, arms crossed in the passenger seat. He stared at her expectantly.

All Bonnie could do was stare right back at him, trapped between the need to hurt him out of anger and her pride to stamp out the sudden shock of him surprising her. She carefully composed her features to one of annoyance, not to hard given her current stream of thoughts, and woodenly climbed out of her car and up the steps to her front door.

"Damon, what do you want? I'm not in the mood to deal with you." He followed after at a slow pace, bending low at the bottom of the stairs to grab a grocery bag she hadn't noticed.

"Ooh so there is mood when you want to deal with me." He leaned in close, teasing her with his constant invasion of personal space. It gave her the clear reminder of what happened the last time he was in her personal space. Bonnie warned him off with a tiny well-placed aneurism. Immature, yes. Effective, yes. "AUGH! Damnit Bonnie!"

"Answer my question Damon." She unlocked her door and stepped inside, stopping to look at him. Damon looked annoyed with her, but he held up the bag in his hand as a peace offering.

"I thought I could show you my thanks by feeding you something in your empty kitchen."

"You just don't want to go home yet."

"Well…" His face scrunches up with his shoulders at being caught, Bonnie is not amused.

"Go home Damon." She moves to shut the door on him but he stops her, his hand gripping the edge of the door. He leaned his head in, reminding Bonnie he had free reign over her house now.

"C'mon judgy, it's either here or the bar…"

"The Bar."

"Where I could pick up a chick or two, maybe have my way with them before draining on-"

"You asshole! Are you seriously blackmailing me right now!?"

"I offered to feed you. This means I'll cook." Bonnie wrenched the door out of his grip and walked away from him, leaving the door open in invitation.

"You better not make this a habit. I am not your scapegoat." She dumped her bags on the couch, as he opened her fridge. Despite Bonnie's frustration, she felt her curiosity peak at what he was cooking and sat at the kitchen table. "Do you need any help?"

He looked up at her, amused, and she immediately regretted offering help.

"Although I was enjoying your little burst of hostility earlier, it never ceases to amaze me at how eager you are to help."

"Whatever." Instead of questioning further about dinner, the little witch bounced between cupboards and pots.

"Coffee?"

"Black." Damon rummaged through her dishes grabbing what he needed, filling one large pot with water. He grabbed fresh pasta, tomatoes, olives, and garlic from the grocery bag. Bonnie looked back at him, as she got the Coffee and tea pot ready.

"Pasta?"

"Pasta alla puttanesca." He made quick work of chopping up the ingredients, and cooking the pasta. Surprising Bonnie at how much ease he had while working with the food. The coffee machine dinged at her, just as the water for her tea began to boil. She poured Damon a cup of coffee, placing the it in front of him.

"Vampires can eat food? I mean people food I guess. Like vegetables and chicken?" Bonnie mentally kicked herself; she was trying really hard not to leave an opening for one of his morbid jokes. The vampire rolled his eyes, completely aware of what she was doing.

"Think of it as watching a favorite movie. Watching it a second time isn't as exciting and you don't really need to watch it again, but you do it because you enjoy it." He shrugged a little, suddenly unsure of himself but the look on her face proved that she had understood.

She quietly watched him work, fascinated by how her kitchen actually felt like one. It was filled with the aromas of food that most kitchens were accustomed to, but not hers. Bonnie was only in here to make quick snacks, and when her dad was home they went out to eat. The kitchen felt warm and alive, lulling Bonnie into a comforting sense of security. It eased away her tension from her…disagreement with Elena.

"What are you drinking?"

"Huh?" Damon had placed two plates of food on the table, and sat across from her.

"Whatever you're drinking, you pretty much secrete the damn stuff."

"I'm hearing what sounds like an insult." She pursed her lips into a thoughtful frown, as he lifted her cup from her. He purposefully sipped from the end she was sipping from, while staring at her.

"Ah! Chai tea. Of course. This is what I have been smelling from you all this time." To make a point, Damon slid his chair closer to her so he could lean in close. This allowed her to get a small hint of his cologne, it smelled of warmth and sandalwood. A scent, she did not want to admit, that she wanted to breathe in more deeply. However her pride won yet again that day, and she scooted her chair away from him.

"Thank you for the dinner… you can leave now."

"Fuck you, I'm eating dinner with you. I slaved over the hot stove, and it won't be for nothing." He then stuck an olive in his mouth and chewed it much longer then necessary, a smug look comfortably blending with his face.

"Fine, stay, but you're gonna eat my olives." Bonnie began picking through her pasta, tossing the said food at his plate. She had to hold back a laugh at his offended face.

"What!? Why? Do you not like olives or something?" Her answer was simply a scrunched up face. It's not like she disliked the flavor they gave to the food, just the actual olives themselves. Damon cursed under his breath, stabbing a left over olive off of Bonnie's plate. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to trouble you over something so minor."

"And now you do?"

"Seemed like a good time to do it."

Despite their argumentative tone, the atmosphere was comfortable. The house felt different. It was a feeling that Bonnie felt the need to ignore. If she didn't, then that meant she would have to admit to something that Damon was a part of. It was something that Bonnie deemed herself not ready to get into quite yet. Bonnie was about half way through their meal when Damon decided to interrupt.

"I'm going to have to take a guess that your sudden silence means that my food is delicious." The witch had to fight off her instinct to bat down his ego, but she had to admit, the man can cook.

"It's surprisingly good." While taking another bite, she managed to give him a bored shrug. He scoffed at her, but decided to let her finish her food. There would be time to bug her after she was done. Damon had the distinct impression that Bonnie hadn't had a home cooked meal in a while. He ate about half of his own plate, finishing off the olives, and dumped the rest onto Bonnie's plate. At her questioning look he simply stated he needed something more 'filling'.

After she was done, she picked up both of their plates. While passing by the counters, she managed to balance a few more dishes in her arms to place into the sink.

"I'll clean up."

"Good, I wasn't." His eye brows shot up innocently as she gave him a sarcastic little laugh. A distinct buzzing noise near the stove distracted Bonnie from her cleaning to see that Damon had left his phone out.

"It's Stefan."

"Leave it." Bonnie glanced back at him and gave him a strong disapproving look before answering the phone.

"Hey Stefan." It didn't surprise her how quickly Damon was in her space, but her held out hand stopped him from ripping the phone away from her.

"Bonnie? I'm sorry did I-"

"No this is Damon's phone. He's using me as a scapegoat, tell him to go home." With that she tossed the phone to Damon. "That's for blackmailing me."

He looked ready to shatter the phone in his hand but a small smile began to creep back into his features, looking Bonnie up and down.

"Yeah sorry for not calling bro, but Bonnie has been occupying me with all the new magic 'tricks' she's been learning." Said witch rushed him, jumping up and down as he held the phone far above her. He wasn't particularly tall, but Bonnie was the shortest one in their merry group.

"Stefan he is a liar!" Damon reached his free arm around her, pressing her firmly against him to keep her from jumping. Immediately she froze in surprise at the sudden closeness, proving his tactic to be useful. The smell of sandalwood immediately enveloped her, putting her senses into a momentary overload. Her captor smiled a little at her and placed his chin on her head.

"Oh…I see." Stefan almost sounded amused by this. It confused Damon somewhat, being almost certain that his younger brother would have shown more concern.

"What the hell is that tone all about?"

"Well Caroline told me some interesting things about Bonnie today."

"Yeah? And what did Barbie have to say?" The nickname jolted Bonnie back into reality, her nose pressed firmly between the edge of his shirt and collarbone. Caroline's scheming look flashed passed her thoughts, causing her to begin untangling from Damon's grip. A grip that purposefully held onto her tighter once she started to move, making Bonnie wonder if violence should be her next course of action.

"Apparently Bonnie got into a disagreement with Elena today. Defending our "honor," as Caroline would like to put it." Damon's arms, although still around Bonnie's small frame, went loose. As soon as she felt his grip lessen, Bonnie immediately took advantage and got herself out.

She chanced a look at him, and felt her heart leap at the look he was giving her. It was a silent look of disbelief. To busy herself, she began to go back to work in the kitchen, grabbing all the dishes she could find.

"Today huh? Well that is interesting…I was wondering why our little resident witch was being so hostile." Bonnie glanced back at him to give him an annoyed look, which he merely shrugged at. He turned away from her. "Well baby bro, as enlightening as this conversation is…I'm going to hang up on you now." Before Stefan could get another word in, he clicked off his phone and pressed it into his chin.

Thoughts of last night began to swirl around in his head, and the peculiar feeling of hope reared its ugly head. Had Bonnie did that for him? He was well aware that she also defended Stefan, but would she have done it if it wasn't for last night? Damon came out of his thoughts when he heard a very loud hiss, followed by some colorful words.

"Tsk tsk. Really Bonnie? You can't even clean right?" She had cut herself on the knife he'd been using earlier. He moved close to her, causing her to back up into the counter in surprise. Damon tsked at her again before grabbing her hand, inspecting the damage. Overall it wasn't bad, but the blood began to trickle down her finger in such a way that Damon felt that small nagging feeling in his throat.

Bonnie stared at him, knowing that she could just blow him away if he crossed any lines but she couldn't move. It seemed that any type of contact with the vampire would just short circuit all movement. He glanced up at her, waiting for any type of resistance before placing her cut finger in his mouth. Her small intake of breath seemed to encourage him. Damon dragged his tongue slowly over her cut, making Bonnie feel as if her entire body was suddenly flushed red. He sucked her finger gently, getting any little bits of blood that her cut would offer.

She bit her bottom lip, and began to count objects in her kitchen, recite spells, hell she even went through her abc's. Anything was better than focusing on what he was doing to her hand, because focusing on it meant admitting that it felt like he was touching her everywhere. A thought that would lead to dangerous, DANGEROUS things.

An eternity passed before his lips slid up and off her finger, and she fought her feelings of disappoint off with thoughts of relief. However his half lidded look gave her pause.

"So Caroline-"

"She is a terrible liar of a friend." Bonnie attempted to jerk back her hand but it only caused Damon to lean in closer to her.

"Did you get into a fight over me with Elena?"

"There was no fight! I simply defended BOTH you and Stefan." She was hoping he would back off at the mention of his brother but he simply chuckled, which made her nervous.

"Well I was thinking about how it was such a coincidence that you happen to have your little 'disagreement' the day after we had our little…talk." His head bent low, touching the tip of his nose to the base of her neck.

For some reason this felt much more intimate then the kiss they shared the night before and Bonnie couldn't stop her body from responding. Her free hand shot up and gripped his shirt, involuntarily tugging him closer. She couldn't see it but he genuinely smiled, and moved his lips to brush across the heartbeat that he could feel through the skin of her neck.

"S-stop." Damon felt pride instead of disappointment as she spoke. The little witch had managed to form a word out of a groan. It signaled him to stop, but it also meant that he had a positive effect on her. A much more pleasing outcome then the previous night. He inhaled, once more, the scent of chai before leaning back.

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Damon decided to speak.

"Thank you."

"It wasn't just for you…"

"I know, but all the same." He winked before letting go of her hand, taking a few steps backwards. Bonnie had to physically force herself to move from her frozen stance in front of him. Her mind was on overdrive, a hundred thoughts running through her head but never being able to settle on one particular thought. However it only took one sentence from Damon's mouth to get her brain to come to a crashing halt.

"So what do you want for dinner tommarow?"

"Ugh!"


	3. Touch

Touch

The flames danced brightly into the night sky, singeing the trees nearby but never enough to set them on fire. Other than the areas near the fire, the night air was cold enough to steam breath. Footsteps and deep intakes of air could be heard echoed through the forest.

Damon was the only one who could hear the low whisper of Latin as he circle around the fire, searching for the opening he knew Bonnie had set up for him. He ran through and paused briefly, letting the footsteps catch up to him. Three showed their faces, but he could hear that there were more waiting in the shadows. They were beginning to become a nuisance.

The three men began to move forward slowly, each with a stake in hand. Damon merely smirked at them as they passed through the fire.

"Idiots."

There was a loud shout of Latin before the men burst into flame. Damon silenced each one of the screams, while they were distracted with pain. After they were dealt with, Bonnie quickly ran from her hiding spot to a new one. Keeping a vigilant eye on her surroundings, she watched closely at the shadows that moved. Near her next hiding spot she kneeled down touching the damp earth, whispering quietly to herself. Earlier in the day, she had set up a parameter to make her aware of other presences with in her set boundary.

"Damon. Four." He picked up on her quiet voice, feeling relieved that she hadn't been found.

"Only four hunters left huh?! You insult me!"

"If you didn't have that whoring witch with you, you would already be dead." Damon felt his jaw clench slightly, forcing a small smirk on his lips. The voice came from his right.

"It's not her fault you're all incompetent." He looked casually to his left before, speeding to his right. The hunter had already been on the move, but he didn't get away quick enough. Damon made sure to crush his neck slowly, letting the gurgled scream come through as a warning to the others.

"Three."

"I can count judgy!"

The hitch in her breath caused him to look sharply in her direction. She was tackled down by one of the hunters. Her first instinct was to lash out at him physically, jamming her palm into his face hard. It caused him to drop his weapon, but her hit made him angry. He backhanded her, stunning her from using magic long enough for him to wrap his hands around her neck.

Damon appeared next to them, an inch from ripping the hunter away from Bonnie. Before his hand could come into contact however something smashed into the side of his face. It exploded into a powdery smoke that instantly began to burn both his face and lungs, it smelled of vervain.

"This is for killing Jack, you disgusting son of a b-" The female hunter raised her weapon high into the air, but was flung back into a nearby tree. Bonnie barely had enough strength to weakly flick her hand at the girl before seeing her vision begin to blur.

The man on top of her tightened his hands on her neck with new vigor after seeing his friend knocked back.

"You really want to die tonight don't you!?"

"I could say the same to you, pal." The hunter looked sharply to Damon, and could only stare blankly at him as the vampire jammed his hand deep into his chest to rip out his heart.

Bonnie felt instant relief as she felt a rush of air fill her lungs. The dead heart was carelessly tossed back, as Damon kicked the dead hunter roughly off of her. She could tell he was extremely upset.

"Damnit Bonnie. Save yourself before you save me. Your entire being is a goddamn vital organ." He walked over to the girl she had just knocked into a tree moments before, snapping her neck without a second thought.

"One." Bonnie mumbled weakly, swaying slightly as she lifted herself off the ground.

"Well it's safe to say that the element of surprise is no longer in our hands." His hands brought her close to his side, keeping her swaying to a minimum.

"How's your face?"

"The vervain powder crap was a nice touch." He grimaced as he could still feel his lungs healing. They walked into a clearing, still smoking slightly from the former fire. Both Vampire and Witch were surprised to see the hunter silently standing there in the open, smiling.

Bonnie felt Damon's fingers grip her arms the slightest fraction, pulling her gently behind him. She tapped his hand in a subtle way of telling him to let go, and he complied without taking his eyes off of the man in front of them. Her body slowly lowered to the ground, letting her fingers touch the dirt before her knees did.

"Well I must say your little knick knacks are impressive, might steal a couple of them."

"Thanks, Vampire." The title was spat out at Damon, as if it was acid. After a few moments of tense silence, the hunter hunched, in what looked to be a bow, hands spread out in welcome. His fingers twitched as if he was beckoning the vampire towards him, but the gesture wasn't meant for Damon.

"Damon! Seven!"

"What!?" Instead of focusing on what was happening behind him, Damon noticed the hunter in front of him charging him. Bonnie saw things go in slow motion: Damon baring his fangs for attack, six stakes shoot from the darkness of the woods toward them from behind, Bonnie jumping in the middle. She managed to bat most of them away mentally, one ironically lodging itself into the face of the hunter in front of Damon.

Pain erupted in Damon's back, a familiar burning sensation coursing through his veins. He felt panic for a moment when he noticed how dangerously close the stake was to touching his heart. Unfortunately his moment of panic turned into borderline hysterics when he realized why it hadn't gone all the way through.

When he tried to move he felt something tug back with a moan. Bonnie was pinned to him, the stake going through her shoulder, near to where it meets her lower neck.

"Oh god."

"They're coming." She started to tug weakly, but he quickly reached behind him to still her. Damon could barely move, feeling the edge of piece of wood scratch against his heart.

"Don't move. I can already smell at the amount of blood your losing." Bonnie ignored him, gripping the end of the steak and pulling forward with all of her strength. Before she could fall on the ground, Damon caught her, gently turning her in his arms to see the damage.

"They're coming-"

"I know! I know." His eyes search her wound for a moment before finally moving his hand towards the piece of wood sticking out of her. Without warning, he quickly ripped it out, moving the same hand to his wrist to bite into. His blood was practically forced into her mouth.

"What the hell did I just tell you!?" Her response was to lift her hand towards the woods, whispering phrases against his wrist. Two bursts of fire lit up the darkness, burning two hunters who were the nearest and giving the locations of the others away.

"Fine. Have it your way." Damon gently laid her back down on the ground, knowing exactly how he was going to blow off the steam of anger and fear. Bonnie didn't get the opportunity to watch as her vision went dark.

...

It was a warm heavy feeling that surprisingly woke Bonnie up. Her eye lids fluttered open as she felt something warm touch her hands. Elena was sitting on the couch she was laying down on, holding her hand between hers. The tension that surrounded Elena immediately evaporated at the sight of her awoken friend.

"She's awake." Elena whispered loudly, her relief coming off of her in waves. It made Bonnie smile at her friend's genuine concern.

"Well it's about goddamn time."

"Damon." Elena practically hissed at him with her dissatisfaction. The vampire simply shrugged and stiffly strolled into Bonnie's vision. He stares at her neck for a moment before gently moving some hair off her shoulder. Unconsciously she moves her shoulder and immediately freezes when a jolt of pain shoots through her.

"Try not to move Bon." Elena places a firm hand on her other shoulder. "The wound hasn't healed yet..."

"Yet?"

"Damon gave you some of his blood to heal you, but for whatever reason the process has been slowed down." Stefan was now in her line of sight; he kneeled down close to her and pressed a straw to her lips. She gulped the water gratefully.

"Did you manage to get one of the stakes?" The little witch moved slightly to look at Damon; he clenched his jaw with a tight smile in her direction and nodded at his brother.

"Would you mind lil bro?" Instead Elena stood, eager to help out and moved quickly to get the dagger from the other room. Stefan took her place on the couch.

"How are you feeling? We gave you some medicine a few hours ago to ease the pain." She smiled at his gentleness as he rearranged the blanket around her.

"I feel fine if I don't move. I'm still a little thirsty." Both were surprised by Damon as he beat Stefan to the glass of water, effectively placing himself between the two. She managed to mumble a 'thank you' before the straw was pushed into her mouth. Self-consciously Bonnie looked away as she drank, but when she felt his finger stroke the underside of her jaw she couldn't help but look up. The slow burn of his stare made her stomach flip and she quickly looked away.

"Um…I found it." They all looked over to see Elena clutching the weapon to her chest. She had a look of deep confusion as she stared at both Damon and Bonnie. Stefan was the first react, stepping in front of Elena's view.

"Thank you," He turned to walk towards Bonnie, "It has a few symbols carved into both ends of the stake. We figured you might know what it says." Stefan bent low, holding out the stake to her, glancing at Damon.

She reached out, tracing her fingers slowly across the symbols that were now very familiar to her. They were curses, used specifically for vampires.

"They have…or had a witch helping them. It's meant to slow down the healing process in vampires. Probably to get a better advantage if they miss the heart."

"A witch? Fucking hypocrites."

"What do you mean by 'had'?" The younger brother looked to his older with a mixture of mirth and a grimace. A look Bonnie has seen often whenever he was near Damon.

"I…I saw a quick vision when I touched the symbols…they killed the witch as soon as they were done with her. Burned her." Bonnie felt her mouth go dry at the vision. It was hard to see someone so easily betrayed. She felt the straw pressed to her mouth again.

"They got what they deserved then, some of them ironically so." The little witch couldn't help but smile.

Elena cleared her throat loudly, all looking to see her standing there awkwardly wringing her hands.

"We should let Bonnie get some rest." At this Bonnie tried to move.

"I should get home." The pain shot through her body again, and it was now Stefan pushing her back into the couch. "Please. I don't want to be-"

"It would be more of burden to worry about you being at home by yourself. Please, Bonnie, stay until you can actually move without wincing." There was such an ease in Stefan's voice that Bonnie couldn't refuse him. She didn't have to like it though, proving it by stubbornly refusing any more water.

Elena kept quiet as she watched Damon's reaction to his younger brother helping Bonnie. It was an interesting array of emotions that were only communicated through the clenching of his jaw and varying movements of eye darting and squinting. Everything else about Damon, however, was still as stone. It had always been amusing to Elena whenever the older vampire and witch threw quips at one another, but she was beginning to feel that it should have been obvious on what it could possibly lead to.

With the cue of Bonnie's soft laughter at something that Stefan said, Damon walked stiffly out of the room. Elena looked at Stefan for a moment, and noticed in relief that he wasn't looking at Bonnie the way Damon had been when she had come back in the room with the stake.

"…What's going on with you and Bonnie?" Damon was pouring himself a drink in the parlor, when she got to him.

"Hah. Jealous are we?" He glanced back at her, but she simply tipped her head to the side. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And absolutely none of your business. Now you didn't answer my question."

"Of course not." Elena had to roll her eyes for a moment, berating herself for answering a little too quickly. She crossed her arms, a defensive posture that Damon was all too familiar with. "Look…it just didn't look like nothing to me. I mean…"

There was a dark chuckle that even Damon was surprised that it came from himself. He swallowed his glass of liquor, not tasting nearly as good as it used to, and roughly placed it on a nearby table. The brown haired girl tightened her grip on her arms as Damon was suddenly in her personal space.

"I'm gonna tell you this once. I don't give a crap about Bonnie Bennett." He roughly pushed passed her, and Elena simply stood still. Not trying to stop him as he went up the stairs. What stopped her was the look on his face when he said it. He sounded angry but he looked worried. Everything up close seemed to scream defensive to Elena.

Everything far away seemed to scream passion to Bonnie. She glanced over through the doorway they had walked through when Stefan went to grab her something to help her sleep. At first she could only see Elena through the door way, but suddenly Damon came into view. His body extremely close to Elena's in such a way that Bonnie felt her heart drop. She swallowed and it felt so painful that she felt like crying. Bonnie blamed it on the stress of pain from her wound.

She moved, wanting to be anywhere but there. The pain was crippling and she almost nearly fell off the couch in a heap if it weren't for Stefan catching her. He gently moved her into a semi sitting position.

"I thought we agreed you would stay put for a while."

"…I changed my mind." He sighed at this and handed her some pills and a glass of water. Stefan politely waited until she was done, letting the silence hang heavy on the both of them.

"It's not what you think." The questioning look spurred him on to continue. "Their conversation."

"So you were eavesdropping."

"A little."

"And what exactly was I thinking, about their conversation I mean." Stefan gave her a small secretive smile.

"Something that was enough to make you reopen your wound in your need to flee." He nodded his head at her shoulder, and she didn't want to admit at the new burning sensation that ripped through her when she had moved earlier.

"….I would like to sleep now. " Stefan quietly complied by helping her into a more comfortable position, placing some fresh gauze on her wound, and then closing the door behind him when he left.

…

She felt someone touching her again the next time she woke. It was a strange combination of both warm and cool, it was rather comforting. Her eyes fluttered open to see Damon above her, and she watched him in a sleepy daze as he appeared to be cleaning her wound.

"What the hell did you do? Where did all this blood come from?" He hadn't even looked at her when he acknowledged her being awake.

"I tried to leave again." This time he did look at her, deadpanned.

"Miss Bennett you are an infuriating creature." Damon bent low to grab the dirty gauze, and Bonnie seemed to finally notice how slow he was moving. As if he was in pain. It suddenly dawned on her why.

"Did you happen to bring my bag back with us. I have a salve that I made; it will help a little I think." The vampire pursed his lips in curiosity and shrugged, reaching down near her head. She heard the clink of trinkets before he got back up with a small tin.

"Take off your shirt."

"Aha! The true motive comes out." His pleased look was what pissed her off more.

"Shut it, take off your shirt, and give me the damn salve." The commanding tone in her voice sent every nerve in Damon on fire and he couldn't help but hum in delight. He tossed her the tin and nimbly unbuttoned his shirt with one hand, unnerving her with his very direct gaze.

Bonnie let out a small uneven gasp when he slipped the material off of his shoulders. There were stab wounds scattered all over his torso, back ,and chest. She reached out, which he stepped into, tracing a wound near his ribs. Her eyes traced all over, moving from wound to wound. Damon gently touched her arm.

"They're not as bad as it looks."

"How am I the one lying down and you're not?"

"Cause I'm not a little bitch?"

"Screw you and help me up."

"Such language Bonnie." He let her grab onto one arm, and slid the other behind her back. Supporting her as much as possible, to not put any strain on her shoulder. The wound was still hurting, but she felt the effects of the vampire blood being put into work. Even though it was now an unfortunately slow process.

"Here. Sit down." She untwisted the lid and dipped her fingers into a creamy gel like substance. Only to amuse her he did and tensed when her fingers touched his back. Bonnie rubbed the cream gently around the edges of a wound, when finishing she would move to another.

"What's that smell?"

"It's mainly sage. A couple of other things too, but that's probably what your smelling." The burning sensations of his wounds now suddenly felt cooled down, it was an extremely soothing sensation. He felt linger longer on the puncture that would have killed him if not for her. "I read that sage was linked to immortality, that as long as you had this in your garden you wouldn't have to worry about death. So I figured it might help in a healing salve."

"Immortality huh? Did you use any on yourself." He wasn't really asking her, since he already knew the answer. Her silence spoke volumes. "Seriously Bonnie? Seriously?"

Damon turned his head to look at her, who was now looking rather intensely at the puncture on his arm. He twisted and grabbed her wrist to stop, brushing the hair away from her shoulder with the other.

"Ok your turn." He kept his grip around her wrist, and used his free hand to dip into the salve. Bonnie felt her skin begin to heat up when he scooted closer to her and leaned his head down, gently touching his fingers to her exposed wound. Damon traced the edges just as she had before. She sat still and let herself glance slowly down his neck, over his shoulder and arm, and finally to his hand that continued to hold her wrist. Watching as his thumb rubbed along her pulse.

"There." He looked up, the tip of his nose faintly touching her cheek in the motion. "Done." There wasn't even enough space to breath, and Bonnie began to unconsciously hold it in. Fearing that simply breathing would make her heart burst. A flash of Elena earlier in the doorway with Damon was what made Bonnie break the hold she was in. The memory stirred an ugly emotion that Bonnie didn't feel too familiar with.

"Thank you." She awkwardly moved her hand away from him, and lay back down on the couch. Bonnie could feel the gaze of the vampire loom over her, but she stubbornly stared at the couch. He finally moved, grabbing his shirt and slipping it back on. She heard his steps retreat, and for a moment thought he had left the room, but he came back and sat on the floor. His back was to her, using the couch to lean back on.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading, genius."

"Here?"

"It is my house Bonnie. Tsk. So rude." Damon flipped his book open to a random page and began to read obnoxiously loud. She groaned and stiffly rolled away from him, face toward the couch. Eventually his voice lowered back down, sounding more like a murmur than actual words. It was something that relaxed Bonnie into a lull before finally succumbing to sleep.

He only paused when he felt her roll on her back, her hand falling limply on his shoulder against his neck. It was an interesting combination of both warm and cool. The unconscious touch caused something to stir in Damon. A mixture of things that suddenly made him content. He didn't focus too much on the feeling, but he knew that it would be a dangerous thing to associate with the little witch behind him.

Her hand twitched to move, so he reached back to still her. Gently stroking it to stay put. When he felt that he was no longer in danger of her moving, he allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment.

Neither of the duo noticed Elena stopping to look at them through the slightly opened door.

….

After a quick hot shower, Damon strolled shirtless down the hallway, humming his good mood out loud. However his mood was quickly squashed with an ugly emotion that he was on familiar grounds on. Which always seemed to be associated with his younger brother.

While passing by Stefan's bedroom, there lay Bonnie sleeping quite soundly in the bastard's bed. His jaw took a long while to unclench, before he sped his way into the kitchen.

"Hey. Just a quick question. What the hell is she doing in your bed?" Stefan was unfazed, taking a small sip from his mug.

"Sleeping. Elena thought she would be more comfortable." The younger brother smiled innocently to his older brother.

"If it bothers you…you can move her to a guest room…or your own bed if you prefer it."

Damon was beyond furious at Stefan's amusement and walked away. "I don't care."

Stefan wasn't surprised to see Bonnie missing from his bedroom.


End file.
